Alumni Ambassador Leticia Medina traces her strengths in her current role as a General English Instructor at the Defense Language Institute back to her time as an English Language Fellow in Russia during the 2019-2020 academic year. “Living and working in Russia as a Fellow provided many opportunities for me to hone my skills in adapting to different teaching contexts and building strong, mutually respectful relationships with teaching professionals abroad,” Medina said. “Differences in classroom management style and course material delivery became rich learning experiences which continue to inform my pedagogy and classroom management approach in my current role.”
As a General English Instructor with the Defense Language Institute (DLI) English Language Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Medina thrives on both teaching in her home state and taking on new assignments abroad through DLI’s Mobilized Teacher Training (MTT) project. Currently, Medina is on a six-month MTT project in Cairo, Egypt, where she teaches a four-skill American Language Course to military officers, and TESOL methodology skills to international EL teachers who are preparing for new roles at DLI. “One of the things I love about working with students and teachers from all over the world is the different cultural knowledge they bring to the classroom,” Medina said. “Learning from them enables me to refine my interpersonal skills in professional, academic, and personal contexts, and to gain a deeper understanding of cultural, political, and educational differences.”
As a Fellow in Russia, Medina’s primary duties were creating and delivering courses on advanced academic writing to PhD students and university faculty at her host institution. She also wrote newsletters for her university’s writing center on everything from grammar points to multiculturalism in the classroom. Her secondary duties encompassed presenting and speaking at regional conferences. She gave talks on ways of incorporating poetry into the classroom and on the power of storytelling for language learning. She delivered workshops on the Rhetorical Triangle (Ethos, Pathos, Logos) and elements of composition, and on semiotics in American culture. “Being able to collaborate not only with educators and writing center directors in my host country but also with other Fellows at various events, strengthened my pedagogical development and helped me clarify my approach in the classroom,” Medina said. “Though I had lived and worked abroad before becoming a Fellow, my fellowship experiences tested me in new, exciting ways and rendered me a more resourceful, inspired educator than ever before.”
When the holiday season rolled around, Medina was delighted to discover that her students put together a potluck dinner in her honor. The students shared the different foods they had prepared and arranged the decorations provided by the writing center, while Medina printed out the lyrics of carols they sang together a capella. “We had a fantastic time!” Medina said. “I was truly moved at my students’ consideration and will never forget how sweet and caring they were in my moment of feeling homesick for the holidays.”
Medina leading a session with her Estonia English Conversation Club that she established when her fellowship shifted online during the pandemic
When Medina’s fellowship was interrupted by the pandemic, she continued her project virtually, teaching academic writing courses with her host institution, and took on the additional role hosting conversation clubs with “language enthusiasts from Tallinn, Estonia.” Drawing from the library of resources available to English Language Programs participants on their Community of Practice website, Medina created an online environment for her Estonia English Conversation Club which promoted active listening and celebrated inquisitiveness. Discussion topics ranged from the multiculturalism of Texas and the U.S. presidential election to Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Ballet Folclórico and its importance to Spanish-speaking populations in South Texas. “The club’s members were always engaged, enthusiastic, and genuinely interested in the myriad topics we covered,” Medina said. “I learned about various Estonian traditions as well. We all discovered that we have so much more in common than we had imagined. Making these human connections was one the best outcomes of my virtual project.”
Medina with her students at the Defense Language Institute English Language Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas
Medina found the flexibility of her virtual teaching schedule conducive to taking on new projects. As she was working on her virtual project, she also taught a course in Spanish on Sociolinguistics and Bilingual Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Next, she took on a role as an instructional designer with Imagine Learning, designing digital K-12 education materials for history, math, science, and literature classes. “Diving into research on these various subjects was really exciting for me,” Medina said. “As an Instructional Designer, I discovered how passionate I am about curriculum maps, assessment tools, and writing grammar and reading items for students in the K-12 public education system.” In addition to her current work at DLI, Medina is working on her PhD in Culture, Literacy, and Language at UTSA, with a dissertation focused on bilingual education teachers.
Medina with program staff at the NABSE conference in New Orleans (left); and with her Alumni Ambassador cohort and program staff at a training in Washington, D.C. (right)
As an Alumni Ambassador, Medina has enjoyed sharing her program experiences and meeting teachers from different parts of the U.S. Attending the 51st Annual conference of the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) in New Orleans, she engaged with educators at the program’s booth, sparking interest and curiosity from potential applicants. Just as she shares new opportunities with potential applicants, Medina also looks for ways to open doors for her alumni colleagues, too. Most recently, she invited her DLI colleague to join the English Language Programs Virtual Career Fair and share information on job openings. “I sincerely hope to see a growing number of alumni in the future teaching cohorts at the DLI,” Medina said. “As TESOL professionals, alumni bring with them a wealth of goodwill and expertise.”
Stay tuned for our next featured story introducing the 2024-2025 Alumni Ambassador cohort.